


It's Cold

by Uncle_Riko



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project, Love Live! Sunshine!!
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-23
Updated: 2017-08-23
Packaged: 2018-12-19 04:57:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 872
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11890509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Uncle_Riko/pseuds/Uncle_Riko
Summary: Damn, Riko really must’ve been cold. Yoshiko looked down at her fully gloved hands. Maybe she could give her gloves to Riko? It’s not like her hands were cold anyways.





	It's Cold

**Author's Note:**

> sad times ahead friends

This winter had been unusually cold. On top of blistering winds, an extraordinary amount of snow had fluttered down from the clouds, shutting down the buses in the process. It was because of this that Yoshiko was forced to walk home from school. But she didn’t mind. She never felt anything but blissful warmth as she found herself walking home with Riko Sakurauchi.

The two didn’t interact much at school. Riko was a year older than Yoshiko, and even in Aqours practice, group activities meant very little one-on-one time. And so Yoshiko became accustomed to hiding her crush on her upperclassman. Riko was so mature and down-to-earth, the perfect complement to Yoshiko’s unconventional antics. Riko was surely perfect, but that’s precisely why Yoshiko was worried. She knew she wasn’t the only one whose gaze was affixed to the lovely redhead. And she knew, out of all the potential suitors, she had the least chance of winning Riko’s affection.

But none of that mattered. She was content in stowing away her feelings. Walking home alone with Riko would have been enough to satiate her for an entire lifetime, had she not gotten greedy.

“Ahhh it’s so cold! I wish this winter would just end already!” Riko wrapped her arms tight across her chest, shivering ever so slightly.

“Eh? You don’t like the cold?” Yoshiko had grown complacent; the cold hadn’t bothered her at all. Ah, but Riko looked distressed. Maybe now wasn’t the time to gloat about her superior resistance to the elements. “Well I…I hate the cold too! That’s right!” She added an exaggerated shiver for good measure.

It was then she noticed Riko wasn’t wearing any gloves. Damn, Riko really must’ve been cold. Yoshiko looked down at her fully gloved hands. Maybe she could give her gloves to Riko? It’s not like her hands were cold anyways. Or…She paused, realizing the opportunity set before her. It was embarrassing sure, but she had nothing to lose.

“…Here.” She offered her hand, only to be met by a blank stare from Riko.

“Hm?”

“Y-Yohane offers you her hand…y-you can borrow it…if you want…” Yoshiko felt her cheeks burning up. It felt like the middle of summer.

She didn’t dare look at Riko, lest her blush betray her true intentions. But the suspense was killing her. She was about to withdraw her hand when she felt a gentle touch grab hold of her fingers. She could almost feel Riko’s soft skin through her thick wool mittens.

“Thank you, Yocchan.” Riko’s cheeks were dusted with a thin layer of pink, though whether that was due to the cold or embarrassment, Yoshiko couldn’t tell. She liked to assume it was the latter.

 

* * *

 

The first couple times it was awkward, but after that, the hand holding became routine. After a while, Yoshiko didn’t even have to offer, Riko would just reach for her hand, a gentle smile on her face. Riko hadn’t complained about the cold after that. In fact, Yoshiko could’ve sworn she saw Riko turn down a pair of gloves from Chika, but maybe that was just wishful thinking.

In any case, Yoshiko was on cloud nine. She looked forward to the walk home every day. Sometimes they’d talk, other times they’d walk home in silence. But it was a comfortable silence, something about Riko’s hand holding tightly onto hers made it so.

When the buses were up and running again, Yoshiko felt her anxiety creeping back. Riko wouldn’t have a reason to walk home anymore. Hell, she herself didn’t even have a reason to walk home anymore.

“Eh, Yocchan? The buses are back in service today, aren’t you going to ride home?”

Yoshiko was caught, right as she was sneaking out the front doors. What kind of thinly-veiled excuse could she come up with? “I um…I like the exercise?” Damn, that didn’t sound like her at all. But Riko’s laugh made it sound like she bought it?

“We get so much exercise during practice though!” She walked up to Yoshiko, who eyed her curiously.

“L-Lily? A-Are you not riding the bus either…?”

Riko paused, taking Yoshiko’s hand in her own. She wore the most angelic smile. “I like spending time with you, Yocchan.”

 

* * *

 

It was the nature of the seasons to fade, and winter, despite its usual, brutal, longevity, was no exception. But this winter went by in a flash. No sooner had Yoshiko settled into a routine with Riko than she found the weather growing warmer, the leaves returning to the trees, and the birbs a’chirping.

For the first time in a long time, Yoshiko found herself offering her hand. “L-Lily, d-do you want to hold hands…?”

There was something different about Riko today. Her eyes no longer showed their usual exuberance. Her lips formed, not a smile, but an unnerving, almost sympathetic frown.

Maybe she had realized she’d been leading Yoshiko on. Maybe she realized Yoshiko’s feelings for her. Maybe she realized that she didn’t share those same feelings.

“…Ah, no thanks. After all, it’s pretty warm out today, don’t you think?”

Yoshiko could only nod her head absentmindedly in response. It didn’t feel very warm to her. No, on the contrary, it felt very, very cold.

 

**Author's Note:**

> based off 47:54  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBOT8PNLO4c&t=2829s
> 
> bless aikyan, also I def need to write more non-riko stuff


End file.
